APPLETON, Wis. — The Lawrence University men’s basketball team held off several second-half challenges and went on to an 84-76 Midwest Conference win over Lake Forest College on Wednesday.
Despite the win, Lawrence (12-10, 10-7 MWC) was eliminated from contention for a Midwest Conference Tournament berth after Carroll University and Grinnell College both won on Wednesday.
Senior guard Chris Siebert scored 22 points and moved into fourth place on Lawrence’s career scoring list. Siebert now has 1,343 points, one better than Doug Fyfe, who starred for the Vikings from 1972-76.
Jamie Nikitas added 18 points and a game-high seven rebounds for Lawrence, and Ryan DePouw had 12 points, a game-high six assists and five rebounds. Chase Nelson chipped in with 12 points and Trace Sonnleitner had 10.
James Stack paced Lake Forest (7-15, 6-11) with 22 points, including nine in the final 43 seconds.
Lawrence trailed by two at the half, but the Vikings went on an 11-1 run early in the half to take a 52-41 lead. Siebert, Sonnleitner and Troy Miller all hit 3-pointers during that stretch.
Lake Forest trimmed the margin back to three points at 52-49, but the Vikings countered with a 12-4 run, capped by Nikitas’ three-point play, for a 64-53 edge with 5:25 left.
The Foresters immediately came back to cut the lead to 66-61 on Andrew Toth’s 3-pointer with 4:12 remaining. DePouw then hit a driving layup and Max Burgess buried a 3-pointer and Lawrence led 71-61 with 2:20 left.
The Vikings then made 11-of-12 free throws in the final 1:30 to seal the victory.
Lawrence wraps up its season on Saturday when it travels to Grinnell College.